Sunday, January 6, 2013

By Stephen Boatwright, Member of the IPN Leadership Team and Board of Directors

Three long decades ago it became apparent in the medical
community that men who have sex with men were falling victim to a cancer common
among elderly people of Mediterranean heritage, causing word to spread rapidly
that there was a ‘gay cancer.’ Once medical science confirmed that the syndrome
manifests itself in other ways, it acquired the name “Gay Related Immune
Deficiency” or GRID. It had not yet been confirmed that HIV/AIDS is spread
through many more ways than unprotected anal sex, so this epidemic largely
fueled homophobia and added heavy stigma to the LGBT community as whole.

Thirty years later, according to the CDC new infections have
stabilized to about 50,000 every year. However these rates are rapidly
increasing among gay and bisexual men age 14-24. Collectively men who have sex
with men (MSM) make up only 2% of the HIV+ population in the U.S., but MSM made
up roughly 60% of new infections in 2009. Did we think the AIDS epidemic of the
80s was over?

If you feel like you’ve been exposed to HIV or you feel like
you might be in the future—there are options for you called PEP (Post-Exposure
Prophylaxis), and newer method called PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis). After
someone has been exposed to HIV, there is a 72 hour window period in which PEP
medications can be prescribed. When taken orally for 30 consecutive days, PEP
can decrease the likelihood of one contracting HIV by 90%. PrEP medications
however are meant for individuals who are worried that they might be exposed to
HIV in the future. Ethically, one might ask why an individual would put them
self at risk of contracting HIV, or why these individuals should be helped at
all. For individuals who are meth dependent however, PrEP medications would
make a world of difference in terms of safer injections. Likewise, PrEP would
greatly benefit individuals with ‘poz’ (HIV+) fetishes.

PEP and PrEP isn’t enough though, as gay and bisexual men we
have a responsibility to protect our own health, our partners health, and
thereby the health of our community. Work getting tested every 3-6 months into
your health regiment, or destigmatize it by going with a friend as part of a
lunch date. Embrace open and honest disclosure about knowing your own HIV status
as well as your partners. We have the power to stop HIV in its tracks!

Stephen Boatwright is a student at Des Moines Area Community College and a long-time member of the Iowa Pride Network. Stephen started the first Middle School GSA in Iowa when he was in eighth grade and has been a youth leader ever since. In his free time, Stephen makes art and interns with the AIDS Project.